Jens-Peter Kaps

Jens-Peter Kaps is an Associate Professor at George Mason University's Volgenau School of Engineering, jointly affiliated with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Cyber Security Engineering. He holds a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2006), an MS from the same institution, and a BS from Munich University of Applied Sciences. As a co-director of the Cryptographic Engineering Research Group (CERG), his research focuses on cryptographic hardware design, side-channel analysis, post-quantum cryptography, and IoT security.

Dr. Kaps has led numerous research projects funded by agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NIST, including initiatives on countermeasures for post-quantum cryptographic algorithms and lightweight cryptography in embedded systems. He has organized major conferences such as CHES 2008 and SHARCS 2012, and is actively involved in standardization efforts for cryptographic algorithms.

His teaching responsibilities include courses on computer organization and side-channel security. He has advised over 50 senior design projects, focusing on cryptographic hardware implementations, IoT devices, and security tools. His lab work emphasizes practical applications of cryptographic engineering, with a strong emphasis on hardware-software co-design and vulnerability assessment.

Dr. Kaps collaborates with industry partners like McQ Inc. and Riscure, and his research outputs include open-source platforms like FOBOS for side-channel analysis. His work bridges theoretical cryptography with real-world hardware implementations, addressing critical challenges in secure embedded systems and post-quantum security.